for pipeline inspections in neighborhoods across the nation. and her side of the story, i sat down with the reporter whose tweets launched a harassment investigation against some nfl players. find out what she has to say to people who are criticizing her choice in work wear. talk about a tight fit, the proposal to put some bizarre and what looks like pretty uncomfortable seats on perhaps your next flight, are you willing to fly like that? well, we have breaking news at the top of the hour. nbc news has confirmed that sarah shourd has been released from a prison in iran. ali has the details now and he joins me on the phone from iran and what do we know about her schedule and when she might be back in the states? >> she has been released. we have got confirmation from

officials. going to take off and who's flying her off. but we have been given details she is at the airport. >> all right, ali, thank you very much. we apologize for the audio quality. you heard him say she's that airport and more information on when sarah shourd will be reunited with her family here in the states. voters in seven states are headed to the polls today for the last big primary before the november elections. nbc first read calls this season unpredictable and all bets are off for tonight. the primaries in delaware, new hampshire, new york and the district of columbia. one of the most hotly contested race is the republican primary. it has pitted veteran

establishment candidate congressman mike castle against christine o'donnell who has captured national attention with support from sarah palin and the tea party. kelly o'donnell is in wilmington, delaware. a lot of money sent into that state because of the national attention, kelly, this race has received. what's the latest? what are the polls showing? >> well, what we expect today is this will be pivotal for the future of republicans hopes if they have any shots at reclaiming control of the senate. they really had a path through delaware to do that. there is a real concern among the establishment that if christine o'donnell wins, then she would be at a disadvantage, they believe, against the democrat come november. there is so much interest in this race that, as you pointed out, there is outside money coming in from a group called the tea party express. they pledged $250,000 to buy adds, lots of donations and interests and we were listening

to a radio show here where christine o'donnell was appearing and just to give you an idea of that outside interest, minnesota congresswoman mu shawl balkman who is often a part of these party conversations she had phoned in and listened to the office that she was referring to that o'donnell is seeking. >> what a privilege to go on the air today with delaware's next united states governor. >> well, she meant united states senator and a short time later she did sort of correct herself. but that gives you an idea, according to mike castle who is the incumbent congressman trying to win the primary today, he says there's just too much inside the state. in particular, this is a kind of state where if you are a republican, you tend to be more moderate. it is not the kind of state that is as red in the republican party as we see else where. so, his brand of politics of

being socially more progressive, has been successful. so, it's a real test of ideology here in delaware today and, tamron, fewer than 30,000 republican voters that will decide this. >> all right, kelly o'donnell live for us with that hot race in wilmington, delaware. outside of delaware we're watching key primaries and in new york charlie rangel's political future is on the line. face a public ethics trial after a special house committee found he violated ethics rules. faces a tough challenge from adam clayton powell iv and next to new hampshire the republican frontrunner kelly arod with three opponents who could pull off a surprise win. and in massachusetts, nbc's first read is asking whether stephen lynch will coast a

victory against the mac d'alessandro. at this moment, the powerful igor appears to be headed straight for bermuda. take a look, in fact, we have video from nasa. igor is now a category 4 hurricane. it is expected to reach the bahamas this weekend and then forecasters believe it will downgrade it to a cat 2. just this morning, though, julia was upgraded to a category 1 hurricane. the storm lingering in the atlantic, it's not threatening land now. well, was it sexual harassment or just what might some consider locker room antics that got out of hand. a female sports reporter from mexico assigned to interview mark san xhez is now at the center of an nfl investigation and, quite honestly, she's the talk of the internet. this weekend she tweeted about feeling uncomfortable in the jets' locker room. well jets' owner woody yawnson

called the reporter ines sainz to apologize how she was treated. in an interview sainz said she wasn't threatened or harassed. so what really happened here? joining me is ines sainz. thank you for joining me. >> no, thank you. >> you had an incredible couple days? >> i don't believe that. i'm coming to make my job and my interview with mark and that'stop but wrm i'm here. >> the quarterback of the new york yets. last night you covered the team's season opener. this has made international news. this issue with you, how were you treated last night at the game? >> perfectly. very professional the way the jets treat me yesterday night because they are taking care of me and they're like very close for me and take care that everything is fine. perfect and the media because they support me all the time and try to figure it out what will

happen. >> that's what i want you to tell me. we're at a point where you sent out some tweets and now it has turn under to an nfl investigation. what happened in that locker room? >> well, in the locker room the minute i walk into the locker room i, and the minute i saw that all the players are looking at me and start to make like jokes and everything. so, what i decide in this moment is not to pay attention and go direct to the mark locker room and stay there and wait for him. >> what kind of jokes were they making? what were they saying? >> she's here and i i don't feel bad in this moment because i say, okay, they are guys joking and that's it. >> you didn't feel harassed? >> no, i didn't feel harassed and then go and wait for mark and then a female reporter come with me and say, i'm so sorry,

it's so disgusting that these things happen. it must have happened and she's very upset. i try to calm her and say, let's pretend nothing happened. >> so t was another female reporter who said that she was disgusted by the way the players were talking to you. >> yes, because she is hearing what they are talking about. she's closer for the players and i was all in the locker room and she's the main witness of everything. so, i must say that i didn't make the charge against the nfl or the jets because i didn't feel that it's important -- >> but you tweeted "dying of embarrassment." what did you mean when you tweeted that? >> well, i was looking in the locker room and i feel the environment very, very rude because i hear things and it's like i say, okay, it's a difficult moment.

i'm going to be relax and calm and pretend nothing is happening and when i express that i'm uncomfortable, that is because also i'm very conservative in my way of style to think about it and it's not nice to see naked men around. so, it's uncomfortable for me, also. >> speaking of conservative. there are people talking about what you were wearing. >> i know that. >> when you went into the locker room that maybe it wasn't the best choice of clothing. you were the first female to cover sports in mexico. you covered sports now many years, eight years. >> yes. >> what do you make of what people are saying about the way you were dressed that it was not appropriate. >> actually, in my nine years experience of career, i never hear something like this that i'm not prepared to dress to do my job. i do like over the 250 interview one-on-one with the best players in the world and i very respect

in europe and spain and italy and, obviously, mexico for my job. i never have any problem with my clothes. i really believe that i was comfortable. >> you think you were dressed sexy. >> actually, attractive, yes. attractive. not sexy. attractive. but i think i work for television and ftelevision couns and my image and i don't see the problem. >> let me ask you this, because you are the first woman in mexico to cover sports, are you at all worried that the perception some have of the way you dressed and this incident might hurt other women who cover sports who are trying to break barriers like you did to get in the locker room and be treated equally? >> i think, i think that's the main important thing of all this and what we can do better because i really feel that the woman deserve to treat with

respect in our profession and in any profession. so, i respect and i'm greateful they support the decision because they are concerned about the respect for women. >> do you have any regrets? do you regret anything, the way you dressed or the tweets or anything? >> no. i really think it's fine. so, i think i have the right to choose my clothes. i'm not sure, i really have a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and a blouse with buttons. so, i think it's okay. >> you know, we greatly appreciate you coming on. thank you very much. >> no, thank you. >> well, two hours from now, president obama will deliver his back to school message from a school in philadelphia. the president is expected to encourage students to "dream big" and stay focused on their education. you might recall over the

president's plan. nbcathena jones is in philadelphia traveling with the president. i understand the white house actually released a copy in advance of the speech so that schools can decide if they want the students to hear from the president. >> yes, that's right, tamron. good morning. ever since the president was a candidate for the presidency back in 2008, he's been talking about the need for american students to have a very strong, solid education. to be able to compete in the 21st century global economy. he set a goal of america having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020. so, these are among the messages he'll be delivering today. dream big, work hard and focus on your education. we received an advanced text of the speech last night and among some of the advice he'll give to the students today, nothing will have as great an impact on your success in life as your education. more and more the kinds of opportunities that are open to you will be determined by how

far you go in school. so, the president will be joined here today by education secretary arne duncan and it's worth mentioning that the administration chose this school because it has excelled and received a national blue ribbon award for excellence. if you look at the test scores in 5 through 12. in math and reading the students have surpassed the state averages on the scores. this is really a school the administration wants to hold up as an example. the president will also touch on some of his struggles to focus on school and put into effort when he was a teenager. he'll talk about when he went through identity struggles and talk about bullying that has gone on in many schools. it has gotten violent in schools like chicago and finally he'll announce, again, a commencement challenge. last year the administration challenged schools around the country to do more to help students be college ready.

back to you, tam ron. >> thank you. first t was bed bugs and now a so-called super bug resistant to nearly all antibiotics. it's causing people to get sick so far in three states. the superbug is called ndm1. all the patients with the drug-resistant bug had recently received medical care in india. now, the u.s. patients were not related and all of them have been treated. doctors are concerned, though, this could become global. a stunning number of judge seats on the federal bench are not filled. that amounts to one in eight. partisan politics. is it getting in the way of the law? plus, amazing new video taken just after that gas explosion in san bruno, california. show you more of this video and now why the concern in california is now nationwide. and if you think your seat in coach is cramped, wait until you see this. that's a proposal.

some airlines are actually looking at that saddle seat as an option for you when you travel in the future. [ engine revving ] [ male announcer ] the u.s. government may soon require brake override technology on all new cars and trucks. at nissan, we think this is a good idea. so we did it... ...six years ago. [ wind howling ] nissan. innovation for safety. innovation for all. and she said hair was growing back... i was like, yes, this works... [ male announcer ] only rogaine is proven to regrow hair in 85% of guys. puhh puhh puhh putt and that's it. [ male announcer ] stop losing. start gaining.

but the financial landscape is still full of uncertainty. puhh puhh puhh putt and that's it. in times like these, you need an experienced partner to look out for you. heads up! and after 300 years we have gotten pretty good at that. [ male announcer ] ever have morning pain slow you down? introducing bayer am, an extra strength pain reliever with alertness aid to fight fatigue. so get up and get goin'! with new bayer am. the morning pain reliever.

welcome back. a new push today for middle east peace. secretary of state hillary clinton met with palestinian president mahmoud abbas and israeli prime minister netanyahu in sharm el sheikh, egypt. tomorrow the talks move to jerusalem. the talk on west settlement which expires this month. we turn now to the heated political battle over a number of federal judge seats waiting to be filled. more than 100 federal judge

seats are currently vacant, that's one in eight. just late yesterday president obama renominated five candidates who were derailed by republicans. nbc news justice correspondent pete williams joins us. "a," give us perspective on why this is significant and is it really all about politics as usual? >> why it's significant, it does slow down the work of the federal courts when there are this many vacancies. about half of them are what the judicial branch considers to be judicial emergencies because they're lasting so long. for example, chief justice john roberts left the court of appeals here in washington five years ago and his position has yet to be filled. five of the vacancies on this list date to 2007. so, is it politics as usual? well, probably so. sometimes the democrats slow roll republicans on their nomination, so turn asbout fair play. that's part of the factor. the other factor, president obama has not acted as fast as some of his predecessors to

nominate justices and judges to the courts. the work has been fast on the supreme court, but not so much on the courts of appeals and the district courts. the pace of nominations and confirmations is now the slowest it's been since the nixon administration. it was faster in both the clinton and carter administration and the regular administration and in both bush administrations. so so far the administration has acted on 31 of the 47 nominees 20 vote last year and including one last night on the sixth circuit court of appeals but leahy says it's a slower process in the senate for both district and court of appeals judges. so, you know, there's certainly both parties have a role to play in this. they both say it's the others fault, but clearly they both have a role to play in this and it's the slowest it's been in a long time.

>> any indication, pete, that we'll see things speed up. as i mentioned, the president renominated five candidates late yesterday. >> it doesn't seem to be a high priority to get these people confirmed. there was a confirmation last night, but i don't know there are going to be any more in this session of congress with the increasing signs that the republicans may make great gains in the senate. there's no incentive for them to start moving on president obama's nominees when they would have more leverage in the coming session. may be more difficult to get any further nominees done this year. >> nbc justice correspondent pete williams, thank you, pete are pete. >> you bet. grizzly bears migrating from the wild to residential neighborhoods. we'll hear from a man who came face-to-face with a big bear. what is the right way to handle this? we'd like to know what you think about any of the stories we're covering today. go to twitter.msnbc.com.

we'll pick a tweet of the day a little bit later. [ male announcer ] this is steven, a busy man. his day starts with his arthritis pain. that's breakfast with two pills. the morning is over, it's time for two more pills. the day marches on, back to more pills.

and when he's finally home... but hang on; just two aleve can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is steven, who chose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels.

well, would you like to sit, stand or straddle? those could soon be the options for airline passengers. take a look at some airlines have already expressed interest in. these are the new straddle seats shaped in the form of a horse saddle. passengers would sit at an angle on flights of up to -- could you sit on that for three hours? look at that thing. charlie is from the consumer travel alliance and part of the new campaign, mad as hell about hidden fees.com. thank you for joining us again, charlie. so, are you mad about the idea of these straddle seats? what do you think? >> well, i find it kind of funny. these seats are out, rumor being created for about two years now. they were going to fill up the

big, big jumbo jets, the airbus 380s with these seats and they could put 80 people on the planes and when we talked about it years ago people said, no way, it's not going to happen. guess what, here it is. >> and the design is the sky rider. it allows 23 inches of leg room, 7 inches less than the average seat space of 30 inches. as i mentioned, this would be available, suitable of travel up to three hours. i would imagine that would be very painful. the airlines that are considering this, this is about budget. yet again an attempt to save money but do you think consumers will push back on this one? >> definitely, consumers will push back. getting this accepted by the public is going to be a tough sell. the public is looking for more room in coach instead of less room in coach, but they also have a problem with these seats when it comes to the faa. experts that i talk to think that these kind of seats won't really be approved by european authorities or by the faa when

it comes to security or when it comes to safety and the big problem is that the low-cost carriers have already started to study these seats and they've decided the seats don't save them enough money. >> really. >> they'd rather have the people standing up and strap hanging like they do in a subway. that would save them more money. >> one of the budget airlines considering the idea of standing for passengers, but when we put the side-by-side shots of these straddle seats and the regular seats, it's a big difference in the room. i also understand with these straddle seats you can't have your laptop and you are really just straddling through the ride. >> you are. this morning when i heard i was doing the show, i came up with five things you can't do. you can't read a paper, you can't read a book, if you have to go to the bathroom, you can't climb over the person next to you. no where to put your carry-on luggage underneath your feet and you're not going to be able to do any sleeping on the plane.

>> i think you should add to your list, number six, you're going to walk funny when you get off. >> you're going to walk funny. by having these kind of seats, you better believe they will have more fees to get into the good seats. that's coming up for sure. >> charlie with mad as hell about hidden fees, great to see you again. minutes from now senate will begin to start voting to give cash-strapped business owners a financial boost. if it's possible because the key republican has decided to side with the democrats on this one. we'll have the latest from capitol hill. plus, producers of "american idol" about to announce their new judge and it might be the worst-kept secret ever. it's -- we'll tell you after the break. bathroom spies come clean on whether people really wash their hands after using the restroom. everybody says they wash their hands, but, really? we have numbers to prove somebody out there is not telling the truth.

a tornado hits, air life denver takes off... their night-vision goggles keeping the rescue mission safe... and powering those goggles-- the only battery air life trusts: duracell. trusted everywhere. duracell. words alone aren't enough. our job is to listen and find ways to help workers who lost their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. we'll keep restoring the jobs, tourist beaches, and businesses impacted by the spill. we've paid over $400 million in claims and set up a $20 billion independently-run claims fund. i was born in new orleans. my family still lives here. i'm gonna be here until we make this right. time to face the pollen that used to make me sneeze... my eyes water. but now zyrtec®, the fastest 24-hour allergy relief, comes in a liquid gel. zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air®.

♪ [ upbeat instrumental ]l. [ rattling ] [ gasps ] [ rattling ] [ laughing ] [ announcer ] close enough just isn't good enough. - if your car is in an accident, - [ laughing continues ] make sure it's repaired with the right replacement parts. take the scary out of life with travelers. call or click now for an agent or quote.

well, any minute now the senate is expected to begin voting on a hurdle of procedural hurdles that will clear the way for the package to help small businesses get credit. republican senator george voinovich from ohio is supporting the bill giving the democrats the 60 votes they need to break the republican filibuster. luke russert is on capitol hill and, luke, tell us a little bit more about while senator voinovich decided to side with the democrats here. >> senator voinovich is retiring, tamron. he comes from ohio, a state that has a lot of small businesses. greatly benefit from this bill. what the white house hopes to do with this $30 million is spur small banks to open up their lending for small businesses. within this bill there is going to be a part of the bill in which banks that are worth less than $10 billion will get government funding to try to

open up the credit markets for other small businesses and you'll also see a lot of tax breaks going to small businesses that want to remodel their shops or perhaps build an expansion to spur growth in the construction market. a lot of things in this $30 billion that the white house and congressional democrats will really move a lot in the way of job creation, especially in helping out small businesses. another thing which we're going to see here, which is quite interesting, tamron, democrats take this as something they have accomplished in the final weeks as being on the side of main street. republicans while they had opposition to it, have truly been more procedural because of a certain amount of amendments to go back to the health care law. an amendment on the floor from nebraska that has to do with how companies have to report how much different types of products they bought from bottled water and all sorts of food. a lot of republicans see that as too much paperwork in these times that will hurt small

businesses. final passage for this vote will be on thursday, it gives some democrats some ammunition to go forward. most likely it will pick up some republican votes on thursday, as well. tamron? >> luke russert live on capitol hill for us, thank you, luke. >> thank you. last week's tragic explosion of a natural gas pipeline in san francisco, in a suburb of san francisco is now raising concerns nationwide. the pipeline that erupted in san bruno was built in 1956 when the neighborhood had just a handful of homes. the national transportation safety board it is an issue that has to be addressed in communities all over the country. in fact, we got new home video that shows the fireball that killed at least four people. nbc miguel almaguera joins me now from san bruno. this warning has been issued, a nationwide concern. what will happen next? >> well, tamron, two of the local congresswomen here and two california senators have called

for congressional hearings and they are trying to prevent what we have seen back here before. a very large line that typically does not run in residential neighborhoods. that line was laid 50 plus years ago before these homes were here and they just don't usually belong in areas like this. pg&e said they were replacing this line with smaller lines in the next three years. watchdog groups says it should have never been in place and safety has been neglected and that is part of the federal investigation, as well. pacific gas and electric offering $100 million fund to families affected by the blast telling homeowners that lived in the neighborhood behind me if their house was immediately impacted or completely destroyed, they would get $50,000 up front, no questions asked to help get them back on their feet. >> miguel, real quick, are they still looking for people who are missing there? >> we've lost our connection to

miguel, thank you very much, miguel. one of two big wildfires in colorado is fully contained. 166 homes were destroyed in a fire that happened near boulder. officials say that fire started at the home of a volunteer firefighter in a fire pitstates >> absolutely, tamron. powerful experience to speak to this gentleman that came face-to-face with a grizzly bear. grizzly bears just a few decades ago were on the brink of extinction but because of good

conservation they are recovering but recovering at a price both for bears and for human beings. let's take a look. when jerry ruth retired from his job as a policeman in maryland, moving to the wyoming front tear was a dream come true. last summer his dream became a nightmare. >> you were out with your friend from back east and you're exploring this incredible country looking for elk but an elk isn't what you found. >> i remember a brown blur and a growl and the next thing was a big fur blanket over my head and the sound of my bones crushing in my face. >> reporter: jerry was attacked by a grizzly bear. the encounter he had was catastrophic. the man so lucky to be alive but this is the place where he was attacked and this is high desert. this is not high desert. why are we today now finding grizzly bears here? >> we continue to see bears pushing out into areas where we typically haven't seen them.

>> reporter: mark has been capturing and relocating grizzlies for 20 years. this year, he and his team have captured more bears than ever before. >> the mighty grizzly bear once on the brink of extinction is recovering. that is the good news, but today these incredible creatures are running out of wilderness and bears out of a need of survival are wandering into what is now human territory. why was this bear trapped today? >> this bear was frequently this ranch, a housing compound and almost every night for on and off for about a week. >> just look at this. i mean, it's just amazing. canine teeth can easily crush through bone. >> reporter: i assist the team in taking hair and blood samples. they'll be used to check the animal's health and genetic history. he'll also be fitted with this radio tracking collar.

so he's been collared, you've got your data, your information. what happens next isn't. >> i think we have a good release site for him on the west side of the tetons. and we'll monitor him weekly with a flight and see what he does. hopefully he returns to being a wild bear. >> reporter: it's not just a matter of changing their behavior, but changing human behavior. a lesson jerry ruth has learned well. >> well, bears have every right to be here as i do. and i've got to live in bear habitat and that's just something i have to do. >> what a story. so, jeff, what prompted, do we know what caused that bear to attack jerry ruth? >> well, jerry will admit he was out there in his own backyard. but the thing is, if you go into bear country and, of course, when you qualify that, jerry's backyard up until now was in bear country. these animals are being driven out because the wildlands like yellowstone national park can only sustain so many bears. a few simple steps that people

can take living in bear country it have avoid having a conflict with the bear. if you would have made noise she may have taken out if you have pets, don't leave food outside. if you live in bear country, you need to make your habitat unattractive to bears. when bears come in and humans meet bears, it's a recipe for disaster. >> the definition of bear country is changing because they are going into areas they have never gone before. great report, jeff, good to see you. well a history making night for rafael nadal. he won his first u.s. open championship last night. his first grand slam at 24. yer's win elevates nadal to become the seventh man in history to win the set of grand slam titles, wimbledon, french open, and the u.ovbujjy

j-lo. we have been talking about the possibility of her joining "american idol," it looks like it's all but a done deal. "american idol" has not made any official announcements and we're not expecting those for a few more weeks at best. she will be paid $12 million and also have a package movie deal, as well, with the studio. looks like only good things for jennifer lopez who hasn't had much traction in her career in recent years. her music hasn't been selling well and her films haven't been selling well either. also i don't know if you noticed at least in new york city last night if you walked down the street and pass any the gamestop stores there were lines forming outside because the release of "halo 3" happened at midnight tonight. people don't understand the reach that video games.

"halo 3" could generate more than, i'm sorry, i just looked that wrong number there. almost $1 billion. >> a video game, wow. >> "halo 3" generated $600 million when it was released in 2007. all in this video game franchise could make more than $2 billion. >> basically, a lot of people inside their homes this weekend playing this weekend. >> playing their x-boxes and we see movie adapitations from this video game. when you're talking about making upwards of $600 million from one video game, you have to wonder what the other media platform possibilities are there with the game. finally, we talked yesterday about the oprah surprise that the audience would receive a free -- >> beginning of the final seizen . >> the whole studio audience would receive a free trip to australia. have to show some of this footage. no one gets excited like an oprah audience member about to receive free stuff.

you just have to look at the expression on these people's faces. >> the qantas airline is there and in addition to the surprise of a lifetime -- >> out pops out john travolta in pilot garb. >> he's a pilot, he flies. >> seriously, let's have this discussion. do you want john travolta to fly you to australia? he's not a day-to h-day pilot. that makes me nervous. they're excited about their eight days in australia. >> for the very latest news, entertainment and aviation, logon to scoop.todayshow.com. all right, there's some things that are considered news in the world but only a few stories that make us say -- >> no way! >> -- so, as your mother always said, and she should, don't forget to wash your hands. a new study finds that men are more likely to skip that

important thing. the study sponsored by the american society of microbiology indicates 39% of women wash their hands in public restrooms. only 1 in 16 don't. as for you fellows out there, 1 in 4 of you do not wash your hands when leaving the potty. the good news, though, from both studies that the numbers are up from 2007. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] ever have morning pain slow you down? ♪ introducing bayer am, an extra strength pain reliever with alertness aid, specially formulated to fight morning pain and fatigue. ♪ so get up and get goin'! with new bayer am. the morning pain reliever. stay twice... earn a free night!

two separate stays at comfort inn or any of these choice hotels can earn you a free night -- only when you book at choicehotels.com. can earn you a free night -- got the gecko t-shirt... on is "4 million drivers switched!" gecko water bottle... notebook... chamois... gecko: sir, i feel a little bit uncomfortable with all... you know... with all this. i mean, it's not about me. should be about how geico's the third-largest car insurance company in the nation. things like that. boss: oh, of course! we're not gonna get carried away. gecko: uh...yeah... all right as long as we don't overdo it. vo: geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

[ male announcer ] you're at the age where you don't get thrown by curve balls. ♪ this is the age of knowing how to get things done. ♪ so why would you let something like erectile dysfunction get in your way? isn't it time you talked to your doctor about viagra? 20 million men already have. ♪ with every age comes responsibility. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure.

side effects may include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to your doctor. see if america's most prescribed ed treatment is right for you. a connecticut man who survived a brutal home invasion that left his wife and daughters dead back in 2007 is testifying today at the trial of one of the suspects. william petit's wife, jennifer, was raped and strangled and their two daughters died of smoke inhuilation after prosecutes say the suspects set the home on fire. steven hayes is charged in the murder. petit was in the courtroom listening to the opening statements and testimony.

jeff rossen is outside that courthouse in new haven, connecticut. jeff, it was a teller, i believe, who testified yesterday about what happened when jennifer came into that bank. what else can you tell us is expected? >> right. some of the most compelling testimony has actually been today from dr. petit himself who recalls waking up feeling, and two men with guns saying if you do it, we walk. we won't hurt you. he just knew his family was in another part of the house and he had no idea what was going on. he literally woke up from his sleep to these two men tying him by his wrists to the bed. his family was being tied up and tortured. when the sun came up, this all happened overnight while this family was sleeping. when the sun came up, these two men, according to prosecutors, told jennifer hawk-petit, william petit's wife, we're going to bank of america, the

neighborhood bank. i want you to take out thousands of dollars for us. you do what we want, we won't hurt you. she asked for that money and showed a picture of her kids to the bank manture and it didn't help in the end. they ended up burning the house down with the family inside and the only survivor was dr. petit who is now on the stands facing this man down in court who is accused of killing his entire family, his wife and his two young daughters. so, this all continues to develop. prosecutors, we should say, told, the defense said we will plead guilty. both defendants offered to plead guilty to the crime in exchange for a life sentence, but no death penalty. prosecutors are so confident in their evidence they said no to that deal. they are going for the death penalty and this could take several weeks and perhaps even months to play out. >> jeff rossen live in new haven, connecticut, thank you, jeff. new census figures could show the number of americans

struggling to make ends meet has skyrocketed. is it time to declare a new a n national war on poverty? we'll talk about that next. my name is vonetta, and i suffer from allergies. [ male announcer ] we asked zyrtec® users what they love about their allergy relief, and what it lets them do.

the thing i love most about zyrtec® is that it allows me to be outside. [ male announcer ] we bet you'll love zyrtec®, too -- or it's free. [ vonetta ] it is countdown to marshmallow time. [ woman laughs ] [ tires screech ] [ engine revving ] [ drums playing ] [ male announcer ] 306 horsepower. race-inspired paddle shifters. and f-sport-tuned suspension. all available on the new 2011 lexus is. it isn't real performance unless it's wielded with precision.

welcome back. new census figures are expected to reveal a grim picture of poverty in our country. the data is expected to show a record increase in the poverty rate from 13.2% in 2008 to about 15% last year. that means one in seven americans, or 45 million people, are struggling to survive day-to-day. joining me know is jodie levin epstein, deputy director for law and social policy. thanks for joining me. are we seeing one group or one region hit more than others? is this across the board?

is it black? wh white? what are you seeing? >> the official numbers are not out. we have projections based on the 2009 unemployment rate, which are quite high. they averaged over 2009 9.3%, up from 5.8% in 2008. based on those high levels of unemployment, experts are predicting the 14.7 or 15% rate of poverty you just mentioned. we will see that those who are vulnerable once before continue to be vulnerable. that means often that it's our youngest children who are the poorest category. we also see some regional variations with the hardest hit communities from the recession where joblessness was higher. we also see individuals of color struggling against communities that have been distressed and schools that are dysfunctional. we will see all of those numbers

on thursday. in a couple of weeks we'll also have from census state level data. >> jodie, the federal government defines the rate of poverty at $22,000 for a family of four. obviously if you're living in a city like new york, that makes it even more difficult. $22,000 for a family of four. we're in a debate right now about the budget, the deficit, what needs to be cut. but do we have a war against poverty in your estimation? is enough being done? especially when you look at one in seven now, if those numbers are accurate? >> yes. one in seven of us are poor, even before the great recession. >> yeah. >> so we have some structural issues that we need to deal with. the fact that our jobs do not pay enough. right now we're in a scenario where we do not have enough jobs. but we need jobs to be created

not only so that the 15 million people who were looking for work last month can get a job, but so that they can have wages that will be livable. as you said, it's $22,000 roughly for a family of four to survive under poverty each years that's less than $500 per person per year. we need for a congress to work together to create and sustain jobs. in congress there's a bill pending to provide and continue for an emergency fund that has created nearly 250,000 jobs. unless congress actses s bby t of this month, those jobs will go away. it means we must come together, do what's right. >> jodie levin epstein, thank you very much. and that does it for me in

this hour. coming up at 2:00 p.m. eastern time, well, the tech rumor of the day is that apple is about to come out with a new ipad. there are people still on the waiting list for the old one. is it true? what do you have coming up? >> following that breaking news outs of iran where an american hiker is on her way home. we got a statement back from the families of the three american hikers taken into custody. we'll share that with you. plus a fire accused of firing a bb gun to motivate his son, a football player to do sprints. that story coming up. can i have some ice cream please ? no, it's just for new people. hey ! chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry ? chocolate ! chocolate it is !

yeah but i'm new too. umm... he's new... er... than you. even kids know it's wrong to treat new friends better than old friends. at ally bank we treat all our customers fairly. with no teaser rates... ... and no minimum deposits. it's just the right thing to do. [ air whooshing ] [ crunch! ] [ male announcer ] 11 grams of delicious whole grain. one mighty toasted crunch. new wheat thins crunch stix. the crunch is calling. before weight watchers, my world was can't. can't eat this. can't do that. can't lose weight. but on weight watchers, i can. weigh less than i did in high school. can. stand here not suckin' in a thing. sure can. lose weight, and feel lighter and liberated in so many ways. i can. and you can too. and you can join for free. ♪ i can. i can. i can. ♪ [ female announcer ] and, if you join by september 25th you can get get a month free.

weight watchers. because it works. you can get get a month free. hz when life's this hard, graduating can be even harder. but you can help jose and the students in your community make it through by visiting boostup.org.